In: Biology
life history decisions have no impact on the fitness of an organism
Populations can adapt and thereby achieve an "optimal" life history strategy that allows the highest level of fitness possible (fitness maximization)
fitness is determined by the number of descendants an organism produces over the course of its life. The main elements are survivorship and reproductive rate. This means that the organism's traits and genes are carried on into future generations, and contribute to evolutionary "success". The process of adaptation contributes to this "success" by impacting rates of survival and reproduction
There are seven traits that are traditionally recognized as important in life history theory. The trait that is seen as the most important for any given organism is the one where a change in that trait creates the most significant difference in that organism's level of fitness. In this sense, an organism's fitness is determined by its changing life history traits.
List of traits